This invention relates to an automatic control system for a ripper used on a construction equipment capable of detecting load applied to the ripper and automatically selecting an optimum depth of penetration of the ripper in response to the detected load.
In the past, ripping operation by a ripper mounted on the rear portion of a construction equipment such as a tractor has been manually controlled by the operator who raises or lowers the ripper shank dependent upon his experience based on the ground condition, vehicle speed and other working conditions. This naturally requires considerable skill and experience on the part of the operator. Besides, the operator must constantly keep watching on the progress of the ripping operation so that he can manually control raising and lowering of the ripper shank. This increases fatigue of the operator and adversely affects work efficiency.
It is therefore an object of this invention to eliminate the above described disadvantages of the prior art ripper and provides a novel control system capable of automatically raising and lowering the ripper shank.
According to the invention, an automatic control system is provided wherein penetration depth of the ripper shank is maintained at a predetermined value when load which does not exceed a predetermined value (hereinafter referred to as a normal load) is applied to the shank whereas the shank is raised to reduce load when load exceeding the predetermined value (hereinafter referred to as overload) is applied thereto.
It is another object of the invention to provide a system capable of controlling raising and lowering of the shank both manually and automatically as well as capable of manually controlling tilting or inclination angle of the shank if necessary.
According to the invention, ripping operation can be performed without any special experience or skill and no particular manipulation is required during the ripping operation. As a result, efficiency in the ripping operation is greatly improved.